East Bay Hills project seeking provincial approval

EAST BAY — A scaled back version of the East Bay Hills Wind Power Project project is seeking environmental approval from the province.

If approved, the project will involve installation of up to 31 wind turbines with a capacity to generate about 50 megawatts of renewable energy.

BluEarth has acquired the East Bay Hills Project through acquisition of Cape Breton Hydro. However, according to the BluEarth website the project only includes a wind power component and not the controversial pumped storage hydro component that was proposed by the previous proponent.

The province announced on Thursday that BluEarth registered the project for environmental assessment, in accordance with Part IV of the Environment Act.

Construction of the 1.7 megawatt wind turbines will begin in the fall 2015, followed by operation in the fall of 2016, if approvals are granted.

The Minister of Environment will decide if the project can be granted conditional environmental assessment approval on or before July 25.

All submissions will be placed in the library at the Nova Scotia Environment, Barrington Place Halifax Office and made available to the public.

Visit www.novascotia.ca/nse/ea/projects.asp for more information on the review.